CVB looks to future, lauds achievements

Last year, a historical World War II ship brought 6,000 people to Cape Girardeau's riverfront. This year, Convention and Visitors Bureau director Chuck Martin hopes a luxury yacht offering Mississippi River cruises will enjoy similar tourism success.

In highlighting the past year's accomplishments and looking ahead to the next 12 months, Martin's comments Friday to a group of area business leaders suggested that the river will be a major marketing tool now and into the future.

"Cape Girardeau is first and foremost a town linked with the river," Martin said at the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's First Friday Coffee meeting, held at the Show Me Center. "We want to position Cape Girardeau as a Mississippi River town rich with history and heritage -- a river town with tales to be told."

Martin told the group that LST-325, the World War II ship that was here in June, was a hit, bringing what the crew called record-setting numbers to visit the ship during its four-day docking. At one point, 1,900 people visited in seven hours.

Then, in October, Martin said that a luxury yacht called the Granpa Woo was in town for what he called an "evaluative cruise." Now, the ship will be in Cape Girardeau from May 15 to 22 and Sept. 21 to Oct. 2 offering cruises. Prices will range from $20 to $27 for adults and $10 to $14 for children.

A $42,000 study by an independent firm also confirmed that the river is one of the best marketing tools the city has. The study by North Star Destination Strategies of Nashville, Tenn., also suggested that the city's slogan be "Where the river turns a thousand tales."

'It is all about packaging'

But the river is just the beginning, Martin said. There are also the historical stories behind some attractions that would bring people to Cape Girardeau, he said. The Red House Interpretive Center, for example, focuses on Lewis and Clark's visit to Cape Girardeau. There are interesting stories behind city founder Louis Lorimier, the Trail of Tears and Ulysses S. Grant's visit here.

"It is all about packaging history in exciting, touching, riveting stories and tales that bring sterile historical facts and figures to life," he said. "Cape Girardeau has a wealth of stories and a thousand tales to be told."

Karen Hendrickson, a vice president at Southeast Missouri Hospital, attended the First Friday Coffee and she said she was thrilled at some of the news, especially the new cruises.

"I have in effect already planned to secure the entire boat for a cruise for my church," she said. "But I thought all of the offerings of the CVB were excellent."

Other highlights that Martin offered were the continuing television program "Discovering Cape Girardeau," helping bring the Water Street mural projects to a reality, and getting a visitors center at the River Campus.

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137